


The Parent Trap

by WhatsYourNameMan



Series: Me being fascinated by Willie and Caleb’s relationship [4]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bobby and Trevor are different people, Camping, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, Good Caleb Covington, M/M, Multi, Oh no there’s only one tent, Rated T for language, Some discussion of death and grieving, good dad!Caleb au, he/they willie, no ghosts here, she/they flynn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:22:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29298096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatsYourNameMan/pseuds/WhatsYourNameMan
Summary: When Ray agrees to help Caleb supervise a camping trip for Willie’s eighteenth birthday, Willie and the Molina siblings decide it’s time for their single dads to get back out there.Or, the Ray/Caleb addition to the no-ghost Good Dad Caleb AU that someone, surprisingly, asked for.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Bobby | Trevor Wilson/Reggie Peters, Caleb Covington/Ray Molina, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Series: Me being fascinated by Willie and Caleb’s relationship [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2136879
Comments: 38
Kudos: 129





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I have no good justification. Someone in the comments of “You’re Alright, I Guess” said “Caleb/Victor with Caleb/Ray endgame?” And I said “👀”
> 
> Thanks to Bilby for being that someone and to siriuslyrose for inspiring this series and ranting about Good Dad Caleb hcs with me.

“Hey, Dad,” Willie drawls, wrapping their arms around Caleb’s shoulders from behind and resting their chin on this shoulder. “Whatcha doing?”

Caleb sighs and takes off his reading glasses. Willie rarely shows any interest in the business side of running the club, and Caleb knows exactly what it means when they do. “What do you want, William?”

“Who says I want anything?” Willie says. “What if I genuinely want to hear about your contracts or whatever?”

“Do you?” Caleb asks. He knows the answer. They’ve done this dance many a time. 

Willie moves so he’s perched on Caleb’s desk, dangerously close to knocking off a pile of binders. “Yeah, I do.” There’s a challenge behind the words. 

“Well,” Caleb says, “I’m going over the budget for the next quarter—“

“I want to go camping!” Willie interjects. 

Caleb drops his pen. He fully anticipated Willie not making it past a full sentence of business jargon, but nothing could have prepared him for this request. “Camping?” 

Willie nods enthusiastically with a grin that is far too innocent to be genuine. “With my friends. For my birthday.”

“It’s February,” Caleb says. He can think of a million and one reasons why this is a bad idea, but this happens to be the one that jumps out from the jumble of thoughts in his mind. 

“We live in California,” Willie counters, “and it’s not supposed to get below 50 degrees next weekend. I checked.” 

“We don’t own any camping supplies.”

“We can rent tents. And the Molinas have a ton of stuff since Carlos is in Boy Scouts.” 

“William, please think this through,” Caleb pleas, though they both know that’s a lot to ask of Willie. “You expect me to allow you and your circus of the most inept children I’ve ever met to spend a weekend in the woods?” 

“I mean, I wouldn’t exactly call them inept...” 

Caleb gapes at him. “Willie. Luke had to go to the emergency room last week after swallowing a guitar pick. He’d eat a poison berry and die twenty minutes in.” 

“In Luke’s defense...” Willie falters. “Reggie dared him?” 

Caleb drops his head into his hands. “Sweet Jesus.”

“Okay, well, what if you came with us?” 

Caleb arches an eyebrow at him. “You want _me_ to supervise seven children _in the woods?_ ” Willie of all people knows that Caleb is not a fan of the great outdoors. They often make fun of him for it, calling him an indoor cat whenever Caleb resists Willie’s outdoor adventures. 

“Ray can help!” Willie says. “He already said yes.” They tug at a strand of their hair and give him a sheepish smile. “I kinda figured you’d say no to our original plan.” 

“If Ray is already going then why do you need me?” 

Willie frowns as if he’s confused by the question. “You’re my dad. I don’t want to spend my eighteenth birthday without you.” 

And that, that softens Caleb a lot more than he’ll let Willie see. He’ll never admit it, but he was a bit put out at the notion of not being with his kid for such a big milestone.

But of course, because Willie has a brain that works at triple speed and no filter, he adds, “Plus, only four of us will fit in Ray’s car and Bobby’s license is suspended because of the squirrel incident, so someone needs to drive the van.”

Caleb rolls his eyes, but he knows those thoughts likely came out in the wrong order, and that doesn’t dampen the genuine nature of Willie’s first reason. Besides, if he’s being honest, Caleb lost this fight as soon as it started. Once Willie sets their heart on something, it’s nearly impossible to deny them, and really, Caleb doesn’t want to deny them. Though he might act aloof most of the time, Caleb would put his heart on a silver platter for this kid. 

He lets out a long sigh, long enough that Willie would probably call him dramatic if they weren’t currently begging for Caleb’s worst nightmare. “Fine,” he says. “But I am _not_ fishing.”

Willie leaps off the desk, knocking the binders to the ground, and throws his arms around Caleb. “Thank you thank you thank you! I’m gonna go tell everyone.” They run out of the room, nearly slipping on the fallen papers.

Caleb groans and drops his head into his hands. “What have I done?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Willie isn’t surprised when Caleb demands to meet with Ray and figure out every last detail of the trip. Willie _is_ surprised when Caleb agrees to have the meeting at the Molinas’ house. Though he likes the Molinas well enough, he usually avoids their house unless he’s dropping Willie off or picking them up. Too many kids around for his taste, or at least that’s what he says. 

When they walk up to the front door, Willie realizes this might be the first time Caleb’s ever been inside the house. His suspicion is confirmed when Ray throws the door open with a wide grin, exclaiming, “Caleb! It’s great to finally have you over.”

Caleb gives him a polite smile. “The pleasure is mine.”

Ray steps back from the door to allow the Covingtons inside. “Come on in, I’m just making lunch.” 

“Oh, do you want us to come back at a better time?” Caleb asks. 

“No,” Ray says, “as long as you don’t mind me cooking while we talk. You’re welcome to stay to eat, too.”

“That sounds lovely.”

Ray turns to Willie. “I think Alex is in the studio.”

“Thanks, Ray,” Willie says. He gives the man a fist bump and makes a beeline for the back door, hearing the two dads start up idle chitchat behind him. 

As promised, Willie finds Alex napping on the crusty old couch in the garage, his snapback placed over his face to block out the light. Willie sneaks over and gently lays himself on top of his boyfriend, his head resting on Alex’s chest. Almost immediately, Alex’s arms wrap around them. 

“Who?” Alex mutters, and Willie feels a spark of pure love for this boy who will not hesitate to cuddle any one of his friends without even knowing which one it is. 

“Hey, Hotdog,” Willie whispers. 

Willie can just barely see Alex’s smile under the brim of his hat. 

“Hey, babe.” 

“Sorry for waking you up.”

Alex shakes the hat off his face and squeezes his arms tighter around Willie. “Worth it.”

Willie brings their hand up to play with the strings of Alex’s hoodie. “Where are the others?” 

“Bobby, Luke, and Flynn are coming later for lunch and rehearsal,” Alex says, “and the three stooges are doing math homework.”

Willie snorts. “More like Reggie is doing Julie and Carlos’s homework for them.” 

Alex laughs and starts twirling a strand of Willie’s hair around his finger. “How’d it go with your dad and Ray?”

Willie shrugs. “Dunno. We just got here, and Ray sent me straight out here.”

A third voice says, “Actually, we can answer that.”

Willie and Alex scream and fall off the couch, landing on top of each other in an unceremonious heap. Willie looks up and sees the heads of the three Molina siblings poking over the couch, lined up in descending order—Reggie, Julie, Carlos—and all giving Willie matching grins. 

“Jesus Christ,” Alex groans. 

“How long have you guys been out here?” Willie asks. 

“Long enough to hear that three stooges comment,” Julie says, raising an eyebrow at Alex. 

“I’ll have you know I don’t do their homework for them,” Reggie says. 

“Yeah,” Carlos adds. “I got a 98 on my homework last week all by myself.”

Willie pulls himself back up to the couch and gives Carlos a fist bump. “Nice job, little dude.” 

“What do you guys want?” Alex sighs, joining Willie on the couch. 

“You asked how it was going with our dads,” Carlos says. 

“And I’d say it’s going _very well_.” Reggie launches himself over the back of the couch, landing on Alex’s lap and wiggling his eyebrows at Willie.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Willie asks. 

“I wouldn’t have phrased it like that,” Julie says, perching on the coffee table, “but our dads are pretty cute together.”

“What, like _together_ together?” Willie frowns. “Was Dad flirting?” Willie can’t even picture what that would look like. Caleb hasn’t shown any interest in dating in all the time Willie’s lived with him. His partner, Victor, died thirteen years ago and Caleb hasn’t been on a single date since. 

“They weren’t really flirting, exactly,” Julie admits, “but they weren’t really talking about camping either.”

“Dad made a dumb joke, like, really dumb,” Carlos says, “and Caleb actually laughed.”

“He _laughed_?” Willie asks. “Like a real laugh? Not just a chuckle?” 

“Like a full-on belly laugh,” Reggie says. “I didn’t even know he could do that.” 

“Me neither,” Willie says. “Holy shit.”

“Do you think they’re into each other?” Alex asks. 

“Well,” Carlos says, “that’s why we summoned you here.”

“You didn’t summon us,” Willie says at the same time Alex says, “No one invited you three out here.” 

Naturally, the Molinas ignore this. 

“We think this weekend would be a _great_ way for them to spend time together,” Reggie says. 

“You want to... set our dads up?” Willie turns to Julie and Carlos. “And you guys are okay with this?” 

Carlos nods enthusiastically, and Julie shrugs. 

“I don’t think it would hurt him to get back out there,” she says. “I know he’s not, like, trying to replace mom or anything, and I don’t want him to be lonely. There are worse people he could be with.” 

Willie considers this. He doesn’t have a problem with Caleb dating at all, having never met Victor, and if he’s ready to move on after all this time, Willie won’t get in his way. Plus, Ray is one of the best people he knows, and if the Molinas are okay with their dad dating again, then he can’t think of any reason why they shouldn’t at least try.

“Okay,” Willie nods. “What’s the plan?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Week(?) On The Parent Trap: Caleb doesn’t own camping clothes. Ray is willing to share.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire fic is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever written but I’m having so much fun

“Come on, come on, let’s go!” Ray moves down the upstairs hallway, banging on Carlos’s door as he goes. “The Covingtons will be here any minute.” 

He stops outside Reggie’s door and looks in to see the boy shoving a raincoat into his backpack. 

“Did Alex sleep here last night?”

“I don’t know,” Reggie says, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “Why don’t you know? It’s your house.”

He pushes past Ray towards the stairs. 

“He’s _your_ friend,” Ray calls after him. “Can you at least check the garage for him, please?” 

Reggie gives him a little salute over his shoulder as Julie’s bedroom door opens behind him. 

“Oh hey Ray,” Alex says, stepping out of the room carrying a duffel bag stuffed to the brim. “I was just helping Jules with her bags.”

“Never mind, Reg,” Ray yells down the stairs. He turns back to Alex. “You have everything you need, mijo?” 

“Yep,” Alex says. “Already took my stuff out to the curb.” 

“That’s why you’re my favorite.”

Julie emerges behind Alex. “I resent that.” She holds up another bag towards Alex. “Take this one too.”

“I’m not a pack mule,” Alex scoffs. 

Julie raises an eyebrow at him and turns to Ray. “Hey Dad, did I ever tell you about the time Alex—“

“Okay!” Alex cuts her off, his face turning bright red as he snatches the bag from her hand. “Fine. I get it, you’re the boss.”

“You’re damn right, she is,” Ray says, offering Julie a fist bump. “Now get moving.” He pushes the two of them down the hall, then knocks on Carlos’s door again. “Carlos, vámanos!” 

“They’re here!” Reggie calls from downstairs.

Ray hits Carlos’s door one more time then follows Alex and Julie downstairs, where he finds Luke sitting at his kitchen counter, nearly done with a bowl of cereal. 

“Where did you come from?” Ray asks. 

“I slept in the garage,” Luke says through a mouth of cereal. 

“I thought you were spending the night at Bobby’s.”

Luke just shrugs and brings the bowl to his lips to drink the milk before throwing it into the sink. 

“Wash that,” Ray says. “Be outside in two minutes. And make sure Carlos is with you.” 

Ray grabs his own bag from the couch and steps outside into the brisk morning air. Bobby’s van has been parked in front of the house, and Caleb Covington leans against the driver’s door sipping coffee and supervising the kids loading their bags and equipment into the back. Bobby, Willie, and Flynn call out greetings to him, but Ray is a little distracted at the moment, because Caleb is wearing a suit. 

It’s plainer than what he usually wears, but it still looks expensive, and it’s definitely custom tailored. Surely, he has other clothes, Ray thinks. Maybe he had a meeting this morning he came straight from. 

“Good morning,” Caleb calls, snapping Ray out of his thoughts. 

“Morning,” Ray says, joining him by the van. “How are you?”

“Oh, you know,” Caleb says dryly, “just _thrilled_ at the prospect of spending my weekend in the woods.”

“Not an outdoor person?” Ray laughs. 

“That’s putting it generously.” Caleb reaches through the window of the van and pulls out a second cup of coffee. “Flynn told me your order.”

Ray accepts the drink with a grateful grin. “This is exactly what I needed.” 

Luke emerges from the house with a duffel bag, and Ray shouts, “I told you to bring Carlos!” Luke throws his hands up and turns on his heel to go back inside. 

“I have no idea how you do this,” Caleb chuckles. “I have enough trouble keeping track of Willie half the time, and there’s only one of him.”

“To be fair, Willie has more energy than all of mine combined,” Ray says. 

Willie pokes their head around from the back of the van. “I can hear you.”

“Well, is he wrong?” Caleb asks. 

“Nah,” Willie shakes his head with a grin. “Just wanted you to be aware your child was in earshot before you continued flirting.”

Ray nearly chokes on his coffee. Was Caleb flirting? Was _Ray_ flirting? He really can’t tell if Willie is right from the way Caleb is glaring at them. That glare could mean so many things, and Ray doesn’t really have the space to figure that out, because a much bigger, scarier thought has just come to the forefront of his mind. 

He doesn’t think he’d mind if Caleb _was_ flirting. 

He’s known Caleb a while now, and it’s not like the thought hasn’t crossed his mind once or twice. Caleb is an attractive guy, and Ray isn’t blind. He noticed it the very first time they met, at a support group for single dads Trevor dragged him to. Of course, he was immediately filled with shame and guilt for noticing someone else’s attractiveness so soon after Rose’s death, but he’s been working on that with Dr. Turner, and he’s put a lot of distance between himself and that shame. 

Which is a very long way of saying that no, Ray wouldn’t mind all that much if Willie had judged the situation correctly. 

Thankfully, he doesn’t have to voice that thought, because Victoria, his sister-in-law, his literal saving grace, arrives on the scene, already chattering about how excited she is to spend the weekend with Carlos. 

“Good morning.” She plants a kiss on Ray’s cheek and gives Caleb a bright smile. “Nice to see you again, Caleb.”

Caleb looks just as relieved as Ray feels. “Victoria, always a pleasure.”

Victoria gives Caleb’s attire a once over and raises an eyebrow at him. “Do you need to use the bathroom to change?” 

Caleb frowns. “Change?” 

“Wait, you’re not seriously wearing that camping, are you?” Ray asks. “I thought you just had a meeting or something.” 

It must be a trick of the light, but for a second Ray thinks he spots a bit of red creeping into Caleb’s cheeks. “Well, I don’t own much that’s suitable for camping. I brought some of my rehearsal clothes, but it’s not enough to last the weekend, so...”

“I’m sure Ray has some clothes you can borrow,” Victoria says. “Right, Ray?”

He takes back everything he said about her being his saving grace. She’s the worst. A literal devil. 

Ray clears his throat, praying to God his sister-in-law isn’t paying close enough attention to see right through him like she always does. “Sure.” 

He nods for Caleb to follow him, and he makes sure to stay a few paces ahead, so Caleb can’t see his face, which is a few degrees warmer than he’d like. They pass Carlos and Luke on the way in. Carlos throws Ray an exaggerated wink, and Ray decides he’s not even going to try to figure out what that’s about. 

Caleb hovers at the door of Ray’s bedroom as Ray goes through his drawers, pulling out a few extra t-shirts, sweatshirts, and jeans. 

“Thank you,” Caleb says. “I really appreciate everything you’re doing this weekend.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Ray shrugs, handing Caleb the clothes. “Willie just looked so excited, I couldn’t say no.”

“They _are_ impossible to disappoint, aren’t they?” Caleb chuckles. 

“He’s a good kid,” Ray agrees. 

“He is.” Caleb gives him a small smile. Ray can’t quite decipher it, but it looks almost touched. 

“Well, um,” Ray says, “the bathroom’s just over there if you want to change. I’m gonna go make sure we have everything.”

Caleb nods and sips into the bathroom, and Ray takes a deep breath before going back outside. He checks over the equipment packed into the two vehicles and gives Carlos a lecture about not making life difficult for his tía and how he’s not allowed to go ghost hunting anywhere off their property. 

He’s just finished his little spiel when Caleb steps out the front door, in Ray’s hoodie in jeans. He looks a little uncomfortable, but they fit him well. 

This is going to be a long weekend. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as they reach the campground, Ray sets the kids to work unloading and setting up the tents. Julie grabs hers and Flynn’s and sneaks over to Willie. 

“Did you do it?” she whispers. 

Willie nods proudly. “I made fun of him for flirting and he gave me the William-You-Need-To-Shut-Up- _Right_ - _Now_ Glare, which means I was totally right.” 

“Sweet,” Julie grins. 

“What about Carlos?” 

Julie nods. “He texted me as soon as we left. He managed to grab Dad’s tent while he was staring at Caleb in his clothes.”

Reggie appears at Julie’s shoulder. “Which means phase one should be starting right... about...”

“Julie, where’s my tent?” Ray calls. 

“Now,” Reggie finishes. 

“I don’t know,” Julie shrugs. “I haven’t seen it.”

“Reg?” 

Reggie shakes his head, quickly busying himself with his and Alex’s tent to hide his grin. 

“Luke?” Ray asks, his voice growing in desperation. 

“Don’t look at me,” Luke says. “I was just in charge of Carlos.” He pauses a moment a looks around the campsite. “Oh god, he’s not supposed to be here with us, is he? Carlos!”

Julie puts a hand on his shoulder. “He’s with Tía, babe, it’s fine.”

“Thank God,” Luke slumps in relief. 

“Damn it,” Ray says, checking the van again to no avail. “I could have sworn it was in here. 

Caleb clears his throat. “I suppose you could share with me. I haven’t the slightest idea how to set it up anyways.”

Ray gapes for a moment, and Julie exchanges a look with Reggie, trying to stifle a giggle. Luke frowns and looks between them, confused. 

“Um, sure, I guess that works,” Ray says. He takes the tent from Caleb and starts setting it up. 

Willie and Julie bump fists before turning back to help set up their tents. The kids situate themselves across the clearing from Ray and Caleb. 

“What was that about?” Luke asks. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Julie says. Luke is the only one who isn’t allowed to know about their plan. Julie loves him to death, but the boy can’t keep a secret to save his life. 

“How come I never get to know anything?” Luke pouts. 

“Because no one trusts you,” Flynn says.

“Yeah,” Bobby chimes in. “You have the biggest mouth I’ve ever seen.”

“That’s not true!” Luke protests. “I’ve never told anyone about your massive crush on Reggie.” 

Bobby drops his tent pole and Luke immediately slaps a hand over his own mouth. 

“Your what?” Reggie squeaks. 

“Well,” Alex says, “a point was certainly proven.”

“Luke, I’m going to kill you,” Bobby growls. “Like, actually murder you.”

Luke ducks behind Julie, but she steps out of the way. “You did this to yourself.”

Luke turns to Willie with a desperate plea in his eyes. “Willie—“

“You’re on your own, man,” Willie says. “If Bobby kills you that’s one less person I have to share a tent with.” 

“You’d really rather be alone in a tent with a murderer?” Luke asks. 

“Sorry,” Reggie says, finally snapping out of his shock. “Can we just circle back to the whole _massive crush on Reggie_ thing?”

“Yeah,” Bobby chuckles awkwardly. “About that...”

He turns and runs into the woods. 

Flynn sighs and puts an arm on Julie’s shoulder. “Looks like we have to play matchmaker for _two_ pairs of clueless idiots.”

Julie nods in agreement. “Willie and I will handle the dads, you, Luke, and Alex handle the himbos?”

“It’s a plan.”

Luke throws his arm around both their shoulders, squeezing himself in between them with a massive smile. “I’m just happy to be included.” 

Julie rolls her eyes. It’s going to be a _very_ long weekend indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This really just turned into a Boggie story without my permission huh 
> 
> Next on The Parent Trap: Hiking


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As soon as the tents are set up, Willie decides that the first thing he wants to do is take a hike to explore the campground (and find Bobby).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a breakdown, made this. Bon appetit.

As soon as the tents are set up, Willie decides that the first thing he wants to do is take a hike to explore the campground (and find Bobby).

Alex, always the Mom Friend, insists that they wait for him to fill his backpack and fanny pack with anything they might need, so Willie leans against him and puts their hair into a braid while chattering away about the campsite. Julie and Flynn listen intently, while Luke sits with Reggie and tries to restrain him from running into the woods after Bobby. Caleb and Ray are chatting about something none of them can quite hear, but Willie feels good about way they’re standing so close to each other. 

“There’s like, a huge population of bighorn sheep out here,” Willie says. “And frogs! I read that you can find red- and yellow-legged frogs hiding out in some of the old stone walls that line the hiking trails. Apparently the trails are from all sorts of different eras, too, and some of them go as far as Pasadena.”

“Speaking of trails,” Flynn says, leaning in closer so Ray and Caleb don’t hear, “should we try and ditch the dads? Maybe send them in another direction so they have time to _talk_?” 

“You’re a genius, Flynn,” Willie grins. 

Julie hops to her feet and waves to get their dads’ attention. “Hey, we might find Bobby quicker if you guys go south and we go north.”

Caleb frowns. “I don’t love the idea of you all going off on your own.”

“We’re adults, we can handle it,” Luke pouts, and Caleb raises an eyebrow at him. “Well, Willie’s an adult, now,” he corrects, “and the rest of us are almost there.”

Caleb opens his mouth to protest, but Ray cuts him off with a hand on his arm. “How about this? You guys take the south trail, and we’ll take the north. The south is literally just a circle, there’s no way you can get lost on it. Just keep following it, and you’ll end up back here.”

“You’re giving them an awful lot of credit,” Caleb says. 

“Flynn is a Wilderness Scout,” Ray shrugs, “and Alex will be so anxious about getting lost in the woods that he’ll keep all of them on track. Plus, we have those walkie talkies so if anything happens they can reach us.” 

Caleb still looks hesitant, but he nods. “Okay, but _stay on the trail_ ,” he says, locking eyes with Willie as he says this. “No chasing frogs or anything.”

“But—“ Willie starts. 

“No. And if anything happens, radio to us and come straight back here.”

Flynn brushes past Willie to take the map of the campsite from Ray. “Deal. They’re in good hands, Mr. Covington.” 

Caleb sends Willie another warning glare as Ray tugs him towards the north trail. As soon as they’re out of site, Willie and Julie high five. 

“Okay,” Luke says, jumping up and holding out a hand to Reggie. “Let’s go find your boy.”

“He’s not—“ Reggie splutters, “he’s not _mine_.”

“But you want him to be?” Willie asks, wiggling their eyebrows at him. 

“I—maybe? I don’t know! I’m mostly just worried that he’d rather run into the woods than talk to me about it!”

Willie grabs Alex’s hand and starts dragging him towards the south trail. “Let’s get a move on,” they say. “The sooner we find Bobby the sooner I can start looking for frogs.”

“Pretty sure you’re not supposed to do that,” Alex says. 

“Don’t worry, Hotdog, I’ll stay on the trail,” Willie assures him with a kiss on the cheek. “But if I leave this trip without holding a frog then I’ll have to officially declare it a failure.” 

“Even if you leave with an awesome new future step family?” Flynn asks. 

“Well what’s the point if I can’t tell my new step family about all the cool frogs I held?” 

“That’s a really good point,” Reggie says, nodding sagely. 

“He gets it,” Willie says, high fiving him. “What do you say Reg? Frog hunting buddies?”

“Hell yeah,” Reggie grins. 

“How about we focus on boyfriend hunting right now?” Julie suggests. 

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Reggie groans. 

“Yet,” Luke winks.

Reggie shoves Luke, causing him to stumble off the path into some bushes. 

Luke launches himself back at Reggie, but they freeze when Alex cuts in, “Guys. I’m not kidding when I say if you step off this path I _will_ have a panic attack.”

Willie wraps their arms around Alex and squeezes him tight. “Get it together, guys. No Alex tears on my birthday.” 

Reggie and Luke snap to attention and the six of them wander further down the trail, occasionally calling out Bobby’s name. The path winds through the mountains and they get occasional breathtaking glimpses of the valley below. Willie spots two frogs and a lizard, but every time he gets near them they run into the foliage and Alex pulls him back before he can chase after them. 

Flynn starts pointing out the different kinds of plants they’re passing, and Willie chimes in with all the random facts about trees he knows. 

About half a mile down the trail, they come across a tall tree with a super thick trunk. Flynn starts to point it out, but Willie cuts her off. 

“Oh, I know what that one is! That’s a...” his eyes reach the leaves and he stops dead in his tracks. “Bobby?”

The others stop and follow Willie’s eyes. Luke is the first to burst out laughing, and the others quickly follow. Bobby is sitting on a branch about 10 feet up, hugging the trunk of the tree with panic in his eyes and furious a blush on his face. He groans and hangs his head, trying to hide behind his hair. 

“Hey, guys.” 

“Bobby,” Alex wheezes through his laughter, “are you stuck?” 

“I’m not stuck,” Bobby scowls.

“Yeah?” Flynn asks, as Julie pulls out her phone to take a picture. “Then come on down.”

Bobby looks down at the ground below him and his face pales. “Maybe I like it up here.” 

“Okay,” Julie shrugs, “then you’re cool if we leave you here?”

She motions for the others to start walking again, but Bobby calls out, “Wait! Please don’t go, I—“ he sighs. “The branch I used to get up here snapped off. I can’t get down.”

Alex and Luke cackle and Bobby glares at them. 

Flynn brings their own laughter under control. “Okay, okay, let’s get him down. Himbos and Willie, stand below him and make a basket with your arms.”

“I still think Willie should qualify as a himbo,” Reggie grumbles, but he complies anyway, wading through the foliage. “They use he/him and he’s just as dumb as the rest of us.” 

Luke, Alex, Reggie, and Willie form a circle below Bobby and link their arms, forming a cradle with a small hole in the middle. 

“Alright, Bobby,” Flynn says, just scoot off the branch they’ll catch you.” 

“You seem to have a lot of faith in them,” Bobby says, eyeing the arm basket nervously. 

“Come on Bobbers,” Luke says, “we’ve done this tons of times off the loft—“

“You’ve _what?_ ” Julie and Flynn ask simultaneously. 

Luke ignores them. “We’ve never let you fall before.”

Bobby closes his eyes and lets out a long breath. “Okay.”

He slides off the branch, falling through the air, and Willie realizes that Bobby’s trajectory isn’t quite right.

“Guys,” Willie starts, “move—“

They’re too late. Bobby falls right through the tiny hole in the center of his friends, his back catching on Luke and Reggie’s arms as he goes. 

He lands on his left foot first, then cries out in pain and crumples to the ground. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even though it’s been mere minutes since they’ve left the campground, Ray can feel the anxiety radiating off Caleb. He can tell Caleb is trying to hide it, but he doesn’t miss the way his fingers tap out a beat on his leg as they walk. 

“I never pegged you as the overprotective type,” Ray says, finally breaking the silence. 

Caleb seems to realize he’s been fidgeting and shoves his hands into his pockets. “I wouldn’t say I am,” he says, “at least, not in the city. Willie knows the streets like the back of his hand, and I’m always just a phone call away, but out here…”

“It’s different,” Ray finishes. “I get it. But Flynn knows this campsite as well as Willie knows LA, and we have this.” He waves the walkie talkie for Caleb to see. “They’ll be fine.” 

Caleb hums, and Ray’s starting to notice how often he does that and how many things it seems to mean. In this instance, it seems to mean that he’s not convinced, but too polite to admit that to Ray.

“Why don’t you tell me about your new show?” Ray asks. “Take your mind off it?”

“Oh,” Caleb says, a little surprised that Ray would ask. “Alright. Well, I don’t suppose you know of a film called _Metropolis_?” 

“I don’t think so, no,” Ray says.

“It’s this silent German sci-fi film from 1927,” Caleb explains. “One of the main characters is turned into an android and that design sort of set the standard for every android since then. My choreographers and I are working on a routine inspired by that.” 

“So the dancers will be dressed like androids?” Ray asks, smiling a little at the way Caleb’s face lights up. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen the man look this enthusiastic.

“Exactly,” Caleb nods. “We’re attempting to do a speed run of the movie’s plot through dance.”

“That’s interesting,” Ray says. “I didn’t know your dances had story to them. I’m sorry to say I’ve never seen you perform.”

“Well,” Caleb says, “perhaps you could come see the opening?” 

“I’d like that,” Ray grins.

“What about you?” Caleb asks. “Do you ever show your photography?”

“Sure,” Ray shrugs. “I mean, most of my money comes from clients hiring me for events, but I try to do a gallery at least once a year.”

“You’ll have to let me know when the next one is. I’d love to see your work.” 

“You’ll be the first one I call,” Ray says, nudging Caleb’s shoulder with his own.

Caleb suddenly stops walking. Ray frowns and stops as well.

“Ray,” Caleb says, “about what Willie said earlier…”

Caleb trails off, and Ray leans in, anxious to hear where this sentence is going. 

So of course at that moment the walkie talkie crackles to life in his hand. 

“ _We found Bobby,_ ” Julie says through the speaker. “ _He hurt his ankle, but other than that he’s fine. We’re taking him back to the campsite._ ”

“We’ll be right there,” Ray says. 

Whatever conversation the two men were about to have is completely forgotten as they take off back down the path. Ray is surprised at how fast a runner Caleb is, though he supposes it makes sense for a dancer. 

They reach their campsite just as the kids emerge from the south trail, Luke and Reggie carrying Bobby between them.

“What happened?” Ray asks, jogging over to his tent to retrieve the first aid kit. 

“Fell out of a tree,” Bobby grumbles. 

“Oh, Bobby,” Ray tuts. “You’re supposed to be the smart one.”

Luke and Reggie lower the boy onto a log and Reggie immediately clings to Bobby’s side. 

“Reg—“ Bobby starts, but Reggie shushes him and squeezes him tighter. 

“We can talk about it later,” Reggie says. “Right now I’m hugging you, ‘cause you’re hurt, and you just have to accept it.” 

Ray approaches them to start looking at the ankle, but much to his surprise, Caleb beats him to it. 

“Is it numb,” he asks softly, kneeling in front of Bobby, “or can you feel pain?”

“It definitely hurts,” Bobby grits out.

“Can I take your shoe off?” 

Bobby nods, and Caleb unties the laces of his converse before carefully slipping the shoe off his foot. Ray feels a strange warmth in his chest as he watches the gentle way Caleb handles Bobby’s injury.

“Good news,” Caleb says, giving Bobby a small smile. “It’s not broken. Just a sprain.” 

“How do you know?” Ray asks. 

Caleb turns his smile onto Ray. “We get ankle injuries at least once a week at the club.”

He gestures for the first aid kit and Ray hands it over, marveling at how well he keeps his cool. Ray would be panicking by now, googling the nearest hospital. Rose was always the more adept one when it came to dealing with injuries. Caleb pulls out a roll of elastic bandages and starts wrapping it around Bobby’s ankle. 

“This will help stop the swelling,” he explains as he works. “Do we have any ice?” 

Ray nods and reaches into the cooler they brought along to pull out an ice pack. Caleb takes it and places it on Bobby’s ankle. 

“Keep that on there for twenty minutes,” Caleb instructs. “And we should find a way for you to keep it elevated.” 

“I’ve got it,” Ray says. He goes to the van and pulls out a folding chair, then positions it in front of the cooler. “Reg, help him over here.”

Reggie slips Bobby’s arm around his shoulders and helps the boy hobble over to the chair and prop his foot up on the cooler. 

“Does he need to go to the hospital?” Ray asks. 

“It doesn’t look too severe,” Caleb says, “so he should be fine, but maybe we should take him home.”

“No!” Reggie protests, and Bobby sheepishly adds, “My dad’s not home this weekend, and Carrie is at Kayla’s. I’d be alone.”

“Maybe we should call the trip then,” Ray suggests. “Everyone can spend the weekend at our house instead.”

“I’m fine,” Bobby insists. “You don’t need to cancel Willie’s birthday because of me.”

“But you won’t be able to do anything with us,” Willie frowns. 

“I can entertain myself,” Bobby says. “I brought a book—“

“Of course you did, nerd,” Luke cuts in, and Bobby shoots him a glare. 

“—and my songwriting journal. I’ll be fine.”

Ray and Caleb share a look, then Caleb nods. “Alright, but if the pain or the swelling get any worse, let us know immediately.”

“And we’re all staying together from now on,” Ray adds. 

“Maybe we can play a card game or something while Bobby rests,” Willie suggests. 

“Good idea, Willie,” Julie says, and Alex is already unzipping his fanny pack and producing a pack of cards from within it. 

Ray pulls Caleb aside as the kids situate themselves in a circle around Bobby’s chair. 

“Thanks for handling that,” Ray says. 

Caleb shrugs. “It’s really not big deal. Between my dancers and Willie it feels like I spend half my life treating minor injuries.” 

“Still,” Ray says, “it’s pretty impressive.” 

Caleb smiles at him, and Ray could honestly just stare at that smile for a while, but unfortunately out of the corner of his eye he catches Luke trying to sit next to Bobby. 

“Hey,” Ray calls, “no, Luke. Sit somewhere else.” 

Caleb shoots him a questioning glance as Luke grumbles and moves to sit next to Willie instead, and Ray explains, “If they sit too close to each other there’s a one hundred percent chance the game will end in a fist fight.”

“Ah,” Caleb says. “Best to have no more injuries.”

“Yeah, maybe we should limit Nurse Caleb to once a day,” Ray winks. He immediately brushes past Caleb to join the circle as he can feel the heat blossoming on his face already. 

Had he looked back he would have seen a matching blush on Caleb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has just become me giving the Covingtons all my hyperfixations. Fun fact: I regularly forget what I'm doing and chase frogs instead, but I don't have an Alex to prevent me from getting lost and/or too close to a snake. It's happened more times than I would like to admit.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are much appreciated if you enjoyed :)
> 
> I’m wr0temyway0ut on tumblr if you want to come chat with me about these ghosties!


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